Andy Burnham has called for an investigation into the influence of Russian money in British politics.
Speaking as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich became the latest oligarch subjected to sanctions by the UK following the invasion of Ukraine, the Mayor said he '100 per cent' agreed that there should be an inquiry.
Mr Burnham, speaking on his weekly BBC Radio Manchester phone-in, said: "There is a lot more here that I think people just don't know about the influence of Russian oligarchs and their money, perhaps in all sides of politics, but particularly on one side, which happened to be the governing side."
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Mr Burnham said 'greed' was behind the desire to accept Russian cash, adding: "There was a wish to take some of those donations and the minute you do that there's then a conflict. But more broadly if you look at the subject of Russia I think there was a fear as well. If you go back to 2014 and the annexation of Crimea it was appalling that people did not stand up to Putin at that point."
But Mr Burnham was more equivocal on the subject of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Asked by host Mike Sweeney if he would support such a move, he replied: "I don't personally think it should be ruled out, but I'm not saying you should lean into it. But who knows how this situation is going to unfold over the weeks and months ahead?
"To be fair to our government, to be fair to the US government and other NATO partners it could be a significant escalation and a significant, worsening of this conflict in terms of lives lost."
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